Release (The Protector Book 3)

by M. R. Merrick

  “This is absurd. The world changes before we can even get anywhere. What’s the point? I say we get out of here,” Eric said. “Whatever is here, we are obviously not meant to find it.”

  “If we don’t find it, Riley does, and our problems get a whole lot bigger,” Rayna said.

  “Jax and Chief are big boys and they’ve got those dirty witches with them. We only need one, right? So leave it to them.”

  “With all due respect, Eric,” Tiki said. “You have never faced the Visceratti, or any pure blood demon for that matter, at least not to my knowledge. The pure bloods of the other dimensions are not like the demons you are used to. I fear the others to be in grave danger.”

  “Tiki’s right,” Willy said. “May—maybe we should consider regrouping.”

  “That’s not an option now,” I said. “For all we know, Riley already has both pieces. If not, we can’t risk him getting them.”

  “Then what’s your plan?” Eric said. “We’re freezing our asses off here and you ain’t leading us nowhere but back to the beginning.”

  Steam started to rise from the ground and the snow began to melt. Puddles of water formed at our feet and ran down into the black lake. The liquid bubbled and broiled in response, and fizzling screams gargled from the water.

  Confusion warped everyone’s features, and when the ground began to shake, we all stepped back. Heat flushed around us as the earth rumbled and cracked. Shards of rock exploded in large chunks and were thrown into the sky.

  Rayna grabbed my hand, and we stepped back. The moment we did, the ground beneath us broke and shot us into the air on a stone platform. Everyone else was on separate platforms and trying to remain balanced in the center.

  “Chase!” Willy yelled and a gush of water exploded from the ground below. A blast of steaming liquid crashed into the bottom of his platform and then sprayed into the sky above us. All I could hear was Willy’s screams as he disappeared into the cloud.

  Our rocky stage flew through the sky past the others and a rush of steaming water shot up around the stone, forcing the platform to jerk.

  My body hit the massive rock beneath us and Rayna fell on top of me. Chunks of red rock broke away and shot into the sky, disappearing into the gray clouds that were now only a few feet away.

  The air was smoky and I lost all vision in a mist of gray. Tiny spikes of ice tore into my flesh as we hit the first cloud, and I covered my ears as an ear-shattering scream blasted around me. The clouds broke and massive featherless birds appeared in flocks above us. At the end of their vulture-like necks was an abnormally small head. Oversized white eyes looked enormous on its tiny head, and its long and narrow beak was filled with serrated teeth.

  One bird broke away from the group and swooped down, crashing into our platform. The rock tilted and we began to slide, but the bird flapped its wings—twice the width of our platform— and gripped the edge, returning our balance.

  The bird jerked forward, squawking angrily and making the platform shake again. It snapped at the air as we clambered to our feet and I pulled a dagger from my sheath.

  Smoke billowed from the crevices between its teeth and it squawked again, shooting tiny sparks of fire towards us.

  We stepped back as the bird lunged again, but we were on the edge with nowhere left to go. I swung my dagger forward and the bird arched its neck, dodging the strike. A growl rumbled from its throat and a massive puff of steam shot from its beak. It cocked its head back, and I could see the fire sparking between its teeth. But it wouldn’t get a chance to spit that flame towards us.

  Rai’s voice shrieked and her white and gold feathers spiraled through the clouds. She shot herself past us, moving in a blur. Nails on a chalkboard squealed and a bolt of lightning flashed in the clouds, snapping left then right before blood splattered over us.

  The curled talons of the demon bird were still stuck to our platform, but everything else was gone.

  The monsters above us cried out in unison and I dropped to my knees covering my ears. The flock moved as a single unit, and a dozen birds dive-bombed us through the clouds. One by one their bodies slammed into our platform, breaking pieces of it away and forcing it to tilt drastically one way, and then the next.

  Rayna and I flattened and pulled ourselves to the center of the stone, trying to keep the balance.

  The screeching came again but Rai was lost in the mist as we entered another group of clouds. Lightning flashed and speckles of black and red blood rained over me. When we’d passed through the last cluster of gray billows, I saw a single demonic bird remaining. Its featherless wings tore through the sky and headed straight towards us.

  Rai cut through the clouds and locked talons with it. They tangled with each another, and for each mouthful of feathers the demon tore from her neck, Rai returned with an equally savage bite.

  They spiraled down in our direction, screams piercing the air. Finally, they broke apart and the demon unleashed a stream of fire that singed Rai’s tail. Rai smashed her talons together and a bolt of light struck the demon, blowing it to pieces just as it hit our platform.

  Adrenaline coursed through my veins as the rock moved, tilting violently to one side. Rayna slid down the stone and we locked hands. I gripped the opposite edge, trying to recoup the balance, but it was too far gone.

  The rock overturned and I closed my eyes, preparing for a drastic fall, but the air didn’t rush past me and my body didn’t flail. When I opened my eyes, we were still pinned to the platform but the world seemed to have flipped. We were no longer being thrown into the sky—we were falling out of it.

  Rayna sprawled against my body and as we fell, the platform shattered. I searched the air around us for my friends, but I couldn’t see anyone. Boulder after boulder rushed past us, colliding with the earth below, and we were next.

  I could see the ground coming closer by the second, but as Rayna buried her face in my neck, strands of black and red hair flew up and cut off my vision.

  I tore the magic from my soul and braced for the pain I knew was coming. The air element flourished inside my body and wrapped itself around us.

  The breeze went from ice cold to scorching hot, and sweat poured down my face. The inside of my chest throbbed and ached as the magic spiraled through me, but I didn’t stop.

  I envisioned the air reaching out to catch me and as it flowed over my skin, our bodies jerked to a sudden stop. A searing pain rolled over my back but I stayed focused, fighting through the pain.

  After a few moments of hovering in the air, Rayna peeled her face from my neck. Purple leaves rolled across brown grass—we’d stopped only a few feet from the ground.

  Rayna looked back at me and smiled. Her arms loosened slightly from around my neck, and she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

  I felt the water before it came, the element rising uncontrollably in my chest. I inhaled, hoping to get my lungs full of air, but it was too late. I had used my elements, and now I was going to pay the price.

  Something in the air above us caught Rayna’s eye and she screamed, pushing her head against my chest. Whatever it was smashed into my back, causing something to pop in my spine. I arched it in pain and my air element collapsed, leaving us to descend the last few feet to the ground below.

  Water bubbled up in my throat and started to spill from my lips. The earth below was coming quickly, and we were about to be crushed by whatever had planted itself into my spine, so I did the only thing I could.

  I put every ounce of strength I had into breaking Rayna’s grip and shoving her away. Her nails tore into my hand, trying to hang on, but I pulled them back and she drifted away, hitting the ground and rolling down a small hill.

  My back snapped on impact and a gush of water was ejected from my mouth. My eyes bulged as the water squirted from my eye sockets, and my ears popped and then plugged as though I had swum at the bottom of a pool.

  Each time I inhaled, more water flooded my lungs and my gag reflex pushed it back out. W
ater and bile was expelled from my stomach and burned my throat. Black dots filled my vision and I gagged and choked, begging for air. The water didn’t stop; it spilled from my eyes, lips, nose, and finally my ears, running down along my neck in a hot stream.

  My fingers gripped the brown grass beneath me and the black dots grew larger, taking up most of my vision. Pain throbbed in my back and I couldn’t feel my legs.

  As the blackness started to swallow me, I felt the water element fade. Huge gulps of air began to fill my lungs, and it hurt almost as much as the water had. I tried to lift my head but it was too heavy. The darkness seeped into my vision and slowly devoured everything I saw, until finally it swallowed me whole.

  Chapter 35

  As the blurry haze around me cleared, I saw thorny walls that stretched up and around me. Sharp-winged birds circled above and their calls were ear-piercing, but different than what I’d just encountered. They were all white with no legs folded beneath them.

  The sound of metal hitting the ground caught my attention and I turned to see a bloodbath of a battle going on. Chief and Jax had shifted, and the massive wolf and white tiger fought alongside each other, tearing into their snakelike opponents: the Visceratti.

  The witches battled with streams of colorful magic. Occasionally when a witch was slain, a Visceratti would scoop her body into their arms and dive into the ground. Rocks shot into the air as they tunneled through the earth, stealing our dead.

  Werewolves and werecats roared, slashing their talons out at the demons. Guns exploded as some of the hunters Eric had sent fired bullets into the creatures. The hissing that came with each Visceratti’s death was petrifying.

  I broke into a run to join the battle, reaching for the blades at my back. I pulled them from their sheaths and lunged at the closest demon, but I went right through it. I paused for a second before I pulled one of my blades back and plunged it into the Underworlder’s spine, but again my hand traveled through its body.

  The snake coiled and snapped its neck, staring down at me. Her eyelids were mostly gone, with small jagged teeth marks left in the flesh. Bits of skin that hadn’t been completely chewed off hung down, and black veins rippled over her blood-red eyes. Her breasts sagged off her slate gray skin, and from the waist down she had a thick, slimy snakelike body.

  Her tail rattled and she lunged at me with a hiss. The sensation was unnerving as she flew through my body.

  I turned to face her but she disappeared down a hole in the earth. All the Visceratti rasped and vanished into their tunnels. He isssss here!” they chanted. “Get the queen!”

  In a few passing breaths, the Visceratti were gone and all that remained was Jax, Chief, and a dozen other fighters.

  Chief’s and Jax’s magic fluxed and their bodies snapped and shifted. They were the most experienced of their kind, and it only took a few seconds before they stood tall in their human forms. They found their clothes, covered in blood and tattered, but managed to cover up what they could.

  “What was that about?” Jax asked, staring down at all the holes in the earth.

  “I am not sure…” Chief said, but his voice trailed off. He turned in a circle, scanning the area around him until his eyes stopped on me. His head canted to the side.

  “Chief, you need to leave! They’ll be back and they’ll bring more with them!” I shouted, but he didn’t respond or react to my voice.

  He came forward and stopped in front of me, closing his eyes. I could feel his energy moving in front of me and his eyes opened.

  “Chief?” I asked.

  He didn’t answer. Instead, he reached out towards me and his hand passed through my face. He shuddered and smiled.

  “Chase is here. He is watching us.”

  “What do you mean? He should be in the other dimension.”

  “I am not sure, but I feel his energy.”

  “Well that’s great, but we need to keep moving before those things come back.”

  A wolf ran up beside Jax and they stared silently at one another.

  “My scout says the temple is just down this corridor. Let’s go.”

  Chief nodded and everyone began to walk along the high, thorny walls and away from me. Chief’s eyes glanced over my invisible form and he nodded. “We are safe, Chase, because of you. Whatever you did scared the creatures away. Thank you.” He lowered his head in a bow. “Now go. You must return to your team and end this.”

  Chief turned and ran after Jax, catching up within a few short strides, but in my mind, I urged him to run faster. Whatever I did had only alarmed the Visceratti to summon their queen. I didn’t want them here when they returned.

  White clouds filled the sky. I couldn’t feel the air or smell the dirt, but the hum of power coursed through my veins. The legless birds screeched above me, snapping and tearing at one another.

  The earth rattled and the loose rocks covering the ground began to vibrate and slide across the rocky earth. Hissing echoed up through the tunnels and I backed away. Tension clenched at my chest and my eyes locked on the burrows.

  Visceratti pooled from the dozens of holes that littered the ground. I backpedaled faster, silently wishing I was no longer here.

  Red eyes everywhere locked on me and the holes in the ground began to collapse, cracks spreading across the black stone. A loud rumble shook the earth in a violent quake and thunder boomed around me.

  The ground burst open and a snake-woman slithered out of the earth. She was easily twice the size of any Visceratti I’d seen, and a thorny crown on her head sparkled with encrusted black stones. The hiss that came from her lips was accompanied by a thick white tongue. Jagged teeth filled her mouth and her blood-red eyes were crackling with black veins of power.

  On the tip of her tail was a rattle covered in massive spikes. She lifted it into the air and smashed it into the ground, causing more earth to fall into the hole she’d created. Her body shifted as she slithered over the earth, and thick gray scars covered her naked torso.

  “You!” she screamed, slithering towards me.

  I continued to back away. She couldn’t really see me, could she? She could feel my presence, like Chief, but she couldn’t touch me.

  The thought wasn’t enough. I turned and ran as fast as I could. The sound of her body sliding against the earth made me push myself harder than I thought I could go.

  I looked behind me to find she was gone, and I stopped, looking in a circle around me. The earth shook as she fell from the sky and slammed down in front of me.

  “You killed my daughter. You will pay, Protector. Ithreal will tear out your soul and feed it eternal life—one I will spend tearing you apart.

  She snapped her neck to the side and it cracked loudly. I tried to back away, but the queen’s power arched and a barrier that I could not break surrounded me. Her jaw dropped, unhinging itself as she slithered forward. Before I could move, her shadow towered over me and the last thing I saw was her jagged teeth closing down on my body.

  ******

  Before I opened my eyes, I could feel the ache in my back. Something had me pinned against the earth, and the dead grass was sharp, poking into my skin. I lifted my head and tried to push my knees underneath me, but they wouldn’t move. In fact, I couldn’t even feel them.

  I arched my back and turned my neck. The pain was immense, but I managed to see the large rock that had pinned me. It took incredible force to roll myself over, but the rock eventually tumbled to the side. The relief came at once, and although it hurt to breathe, there was something satisfying about tasting the air.

  As much as I tried, my legs wouldn’t budge. They weren’t fuzzy, or tingling, or hurt; they felt dead and completely void of anything. I poked my finger into one and panic raced through me because I felt nothing. I slammed my fist against them next, but I couldn’t feel anything.

  My breath caught in my throat and my heart was a sledgehammer smashing into my ribcage. This couldn’t be happening.

  I fell back against the e
arth and images flashed through my mind of me sitting in a wheelchair. I sat in the corner of a small room and everyone I cared about hung from chains in the ceiling. Riley was taking turns torturing each of them, but I was unable to stand up and protect them. All I could do was scream as he cut them open, one by one, and turned them to ash.

  Sweat trickled from my brow and ran down my cheeks. My hair was wet from all the water that had poured out of me, and my hands trembled as I ran them through my hair.

  I closed my eyes and called the element that had nearly drowned me. I was nervous of the pain I knew was coming, but the vision had scared me even more.

  I projected an image of my body completely submerged in water through my mind. My legs kicked and I swam freely. The perfectly blue liquid sucked itself around me, and I tried to recall what it felt like to have the cool liquid run over my legs.

  The image morphed and I sat cross-legged at the bottom of a lake. Silence engulfed me and I could breathe with ease. I panicked, trying to push myself up to the surface, but my legs would not move. Even as I waved my arms, I was stuck to the sand beneath me.

  I sucked the water into my lungs, but when I exhaled, only bubbles of air drifted above me. I was breathing under water and it seemed as natural as it would on land. The lake bottom was empty, and all I could see were weeds drifting up from the sandy ground.

  The water seemed to ripple and a bright light reflected back at me. It took a moment before I realized the light was coming from me.

  Suddenly I was standing outside my body and I could see fire burning from my eyes. It didn’t hurt but it changed all the colors to a dark shade of red. A stream of red magic appeared and circled around my body. It swirled around me slowly at first, then faster, creating a whirlpool of power.

  A whirlpool, starting at the top of the lake, churned into a funnel and sucked everything towards me. Air, pieces of dirt, water, and streaks of red light descended wildly through the vortex. I was on the receiving end, and each piece of debris moved around me while the streaks of magic permeated my body.